• Kristin Kracke, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, P: 202-787-1644, E: kkracke@oceanleadership.org
       
• Barbara Branca, New York Sea Grant, P: 631-839-1763, E: barbara.branca@stonybrook.edu

All photos by Joe Dlhopolsky

Stony Brook, NY, February 10, 2015—The 2015 Bay Scallop Bowl—an annual, 14-year-running regional ocean science competition held this past weekend at Stony Brook University—was won by the team from Mt. Sinai High School (pictured above), a perennial powerhouse at this event. They will now begin to prepare for the 2015 National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) finals. This 18th Annual event, to be hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Lab, is slated for April 23-26, 2015 in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

The winning team, as well as the other 15 high school groups of four or five students each, were tested through quick answer buzzer questions and thought-provoking team challenge questions. 

The annual theme of the 2015 National Ocean Sciences Bowl and its local competitions was the science of oil in the ocean, a timely and relevant topic given that 2015 marks the five year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, there have been many advances in our understanding about both natural and introduced sources of oil and their impact on the marine and coastal environment.  The aim was to to impart that knowledge to students via this year's theme.


Great Neck South High School (pictured above) came in second place in this year's local Bowl and the "A" team from Midwood High School (pictured below, with New York Sea Grant's Interim Director William Wise, at far right) was deemed third.


For both the Great Neck and Midwood teams (the latter, located in Brooklyn near Brooklyn College), this was their highest finish ever.


"Wolfie," Stony Brook University's mascot, made an appearance to give the competing teams a spirit boost at lunchtime. 

The Bay Scallop Bowl is part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), which is a program of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. Through this educational forum, the NOSB strives to encourage and support the next generation of marine scientists, policy makers, teachers, explorers, researchers, technicians, environmental advocates and informed citizens, to be stewards of the ocean.  Most high school students do not have the opportunity to study ocean science as part of their formal coursework, which makes the NOSB one of the only ways students gain exposure to this field.  Many past NOSB participants have moved on to pursue college degrees and careers in ocean science, helping to solve the growing environmental, economic and security issues facing our ocean and planet.  In 2015, approximately 2,000 students from over 300 high schools participated.

The 2015 national NOSB program was made possible through the following sponsors:

• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• Wendy & Eric Schmidt
• Deerbrook Charitable Trust
• G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation
• IEEE Ocean Engineering Society
• Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• The Curtis & Edith Munson Foundation
• Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans  Fdn
• Wells Fargo
• American Meteorological Society
• Leave Only Bubbles
• Russell B. Dobbyn & Puzzles USA
• University of Chicago Press

Additional support for the 2015 Bay Scallop Bowl was provided by:

• The Alfred & Jane Ross Foundation
• The School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences of Stony Brook University
• New York Sea Grant
• The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science
• The Safina Center
• Coastal Steward, Adopt-A-Beach Program

For more information on the NOSB, visitwww.nosb.org.

• 1st Place: Contoocook Valley Regional High School (NH)
• 2nd Place: Cranston HS West (RI)
• 3rd Place: Lincoln-Sudbury (MA)
• 4th Place: Santa Monica HS (CA)
• 5th Place: Smoky Hill HS (CO)
• 6th Place: Churchville-Chili HS (NY)
• 7th Place: Dexter HS (MI)
• 8th Place: Durant HS (FL)

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published several times a year.